Kares and Vic gathered their thoughts and their equipment. All around them the Mon Cal city was slowly submerging itself beneath the tossing waves, and there wasn't much time to take stock. But until Katarn's ship arrived to extract them, there was nothing to do but wait and hope. Vic cleaned off his E-11 blaster, wiping away flecks of blood and droid oil.
"You think we've got a shot?" he asked his partner.
"Of course. If I didn't, I wouldn't have taken the job."
"Nerf crap. If you weren't so big on helping the Republic, we wouldn't have even breathed in the same room as this job."
"...Maybe." Kares examined his blasters, looking for any irregularities to the design. They were starting to get a bit worn out, and he was worried they might start damaging themselves from misfires if they weren't properly maintained. "But look at it like this, all right pal? This all would have happened with or without us. The only difference is that, the more of us there are, the more lives that might get saved. On top of a hefty mountain of credits, what's not to like?"
Vic eyed his boss suspiciously. "I don't get it Kares. You're the dirtiest fighter I've ever seen, and you turn down jobs like they're plagued when there's the slightest hint of detriment; but you never turn down a Republic job. Why?"
Octavian never answered him. He acted like he'd never even heard the human. Vic felt a little twinge of worry at the back of his mind; Kares never dodged a question. He slowly went back to his own cleaning, wondering what was going on in his boss' mind.
Bridge of the Liberator
Back on the bridge, nothing happened. Del started pulling the trigger over and over, his panic growing with each click. He threw the devise in frustration and put his head in his hands. They where screwed, and they all knew it. Del felt a tug in the Force, and looked up to see Pana and Grissk climbing out of the maintenance duct.
"I told you you were going to be in trouble." Pana said dropping down and activating her lightsabre.
"Now i'm going to tell you to put down your weapons, then we will talk about what will happen to you." She said, pulling the weapons out of all of their hand, all landing behind her at the foot of the wall.
Grissk climbed out after Pana, activating his own sabrestaff, and dropped into an agressive stance, ready to jump towards the nearest Stormtrooper. He noticed that Karcot had managed to keep ahold of his own sabre, but not his blaster. One or two of the others had what appeared to be Vibroblades or the like as well hooked to their belts or backs that Pana had missed.
The situation was still far from ideal, but Pana wasn't just killing them out right, so that was a step in the right direction.The remaining Commando's started to go for their vibro-weapons, but Del signaled for them to be calm. "Be chill, boys." he said. "Lets see what the pretty lady has to say."
It has been almost 5 days, I am going to assume an action for them.
As expected, the Jedi came back from the gates to meet Drokath in the bar. They were unable to gather any form of taxi across the desert and thus were stuck inside the small trading outpost city.
"I figured about as much, as promised I have rooms ready for you." He marked a spot on a map and handed it to them, it was in a nicer part of the city, comfy beds and decent food. As the Jedi headed away to get their rooms Drokath made a look at the bartender.
"Barkeep, can I ask you a few questions? No, I am not reporting to the Jedi. I just need some information on the Hutts and Jrakratta."
Drokath handed over a large sum of credits, over four times the cost of the drinks.
The barkeep told Drokath that the Hutts had been running the trading city for about ten years now. A pretty recent investment that has caused a massive surge in poverty and has left a few unfortunates dead on the streets.
"We come across more dead each day I'm afraid. The gangsters here are ruthless because they know we trade cities carry the largest collection of credits per square mile anywhere. The whole operation is run by Grubo, a newbie in the bizz attempting to gain a foothold. With all the trade running through here, it is no surprise he has made large gains in the past few years. His palace is not too far out, only gangsters are allowed in most of the time."
Drokath thanked the barkeep for the information and headed out in to the city. It was cold now, getting frigid. Near the southern end of the city was a speeder, one with a lock that only he had the key for. As Drokath walked up to his speeder he remembered all the old times he had with Jrakratta, the Toydarian might be confrontational, but with Drokath's situation he was the closest thing to a friend he had. He intended to keep him alive.
It took about an hour for Drokath to finally make it to the palace, with all the beggars and miscreants mad at the Hutts, it is no surprise they would keep their palace this far away. The palace was small compared to the now late Jabba's Mos Eisley was never the same after he was choked to death by his own dancer. The large iron door seemed to be sealed for the night, and while most would not be able to get in, Drokath had a way in.
He made a large knock, the sound echoing through the building and back to him. The Assassin had ditched his trader's outfit for his Sith robes. His lightsaber was back with him, how he had missed it. The staff was silvery with grips placed in strategic locations, along with a clip for his belt. The bottom was hooked and grasped on to a purple colored gem. The only thing he has from his old planet. He had visited it before he became an apprentice, he was told to kill his parents who he had been thinking of for the past while. While Talos thinks they are dead, he simply relocated them and warned them of what fate was in store for them. His mother gave him that gem to remember her by, he said he stole it.
After a while, a Twi-lek came to the door, a tall one, almost six and a half feet. Green with brain tails falling down far. He seemed annoyed that someone would interrupt. Drokath told him that he required an audience with Grubo, that it was important. He used his manipulation of the force to further persuade the Twi-lek and the door was soon opened. There can be no survivors He walked up to the Twi-lek, now in a trance and activated his lightsaber. The silver-orange blade impaled the poor man, he slumped down to the ground and crashed his head on the door. As he walked he could begin to hear traces of music floating through the air. A party? Not surprising.
He barged in to the room and scanned it. About seven Gamorians and a small Twi-lek dancer. Along with a band, playing some tune that was most likely popular on Tattoine. The throne room itself was adorned with curtains and fabrics unlike the other rooms. The palace itself was atypical of a home in Tattoine. Instead of sand and metals, it's interior was covered with a carpet along with pictures and artistry. The band stopped immediately. On a large and decorated throne was Grubo. He looked at Drokath and began to laugh. He spoke in some language Drokath could not understand. The dancer translated for him seeing the obvious lack of understanding.
"Why have you come here? It is so late at night, if you wanted to pay tribute the morning would be better."
Drokath shot a look at the Twi-lek, surprised she could understand and possibly speak Huttese. "Tell him, I have come to kill him." She responded weakly and apparently afraid in Huttese. Grubo began laughing even harder and uttered a word that Drokath could understand. "Keepuna." It took Drokath less than a second to raise his hand up and the seven Gamorians were lifted off the ground before they could even touch their blasters. Drokath mercilessly pulled harder, Grubo looking visibly frightened. A large crack was heard, the Gamorian's necks had broken simultaneously. Grubo made a rush to push a button, probably calling in more bodyguards, but Drokath whipped out his blaster and shot the Hutt in the hand. He rushed up to Grubo and activated his lightsaber. In one motion, the Hutt's head was on the floor. The band immediately made a rush to the door, Drokath shot each member in the back.
Drokath then turned to the Twi-lek. She pleaded "Please, I have nothing to do with him, I don't know why you are here but I have a family to fee-" His lightsaber cut her off, literally, she sank to the ground eyes wide. He had noticed her blaster long before he began assaulting the guards. She had intended to betray him, probably shoot him in the back or something akin to that. "It takes a liar to know a liar, you were probably his best paid bodyguard, I wonder how many you killed that way." As he made his exit, he put the edge of his lightsaber on one of the curtains adorning the throne room. The fire quickly spread, there would be no evidence and no witnesses.
He exited the palace, there would be news about this soon, but by then he would have left along with the Jedi. Grubo was a small time hutt and would not make intergalactic news and the fire would ensure that none could tell it was the work of the Sith. He hopped back on his speeder and made way to town, he had a mission to continue in the morning.
The situation was still far from ideal, but Pana wasn't just killing them out right, so that was a step in the right direction.The remaining Commando's started to go for their vibro-weapons, but Del signaled for them to be calm. "Be chill, boys." he said. "Lets see what the pretty lady has to say."
Pana let out a massive force push, knocking out the men, but leaving Del standing. "I'm going to give you two choices here. Join me and i'll drop your men off on Hoth in nothing but they're underwear. Or... I skin them alive infront of you and drop you on hoth, the same as i would them." the Twi'lek said getting ready to counter any advance he might make.
Del thought for a moment. He refused to join the Sith, and he doubted that Pana would simply let the soldiers go free. "Fine then, you whore." he said. "Take me before Ryn'Talos, but not as a slave of the Dark Side."
Grissk laughed in his own little way, more similar to gravel being ground than a laugh actually.
He stood to his full height again and held his sabre parallel to his shoulders, slightly angled.
"You already are a part of the Dark Side, Karcot, you have used the Force in ways we can and do. But what you don't know, what you refuse to hear, is that it frees you much more than the Jedi's way of using the Force."
Pana let a slap loose across Grissk's face that echoed across the bridge. "You take orders from me, not that false hope." She said to Grissk. Then The blue being turned to Del. "You won't go before Ryn, i gave you the option of joining me, not him." Pana said not letting her guard down.
Del was a bit surprised by Pana's actions. It was normal for Sith to beat each other up, but she called the Dark Side a false hope. How very odd. "Hold on. You're not with Talos anymore?"
"Grissk here doesn't fully understand it, but i am done with talos. I'm breaking off along with my ship and the droids on-board. I'll do away with the old sith, the republic and empire. I'll rule the galaxy under the banner of freedom. No oppression. Even i'm able to see that forcing people won't get you very far." She said.
Hann shot awake as he felt a strange surge over his body. Looking around in the darkness of the room, he saw nothing in the shadows and heard nobody nearby. After a couple of seconds, he realised that the dark presence had left the area but in the distance, there was a Force Sensitive in a dark state, the same as he could feel whenever Pana'Gella was nearby but unfamiliar to him.
Taking his cloak and lightsaber from the table nearby, he exited the cantina and walked to the gates. It was in the distance but he could feel the person approaching quickly, most likely on some kind of speeder. All he knew was that he was going to be the one to confront it.
"Your right." Del said. "Forcing people doesn't get you very far. But neither does opposing Thrawn. Your cause is noble, but if you oppose the Empire then I can't help you." The Imperial then turned to Grissk. "My only question is why do you? During our fight you where spitting out Sith propaganda like it was your job. Now, only an hour later, you turn on the Ryn'Talos and the Dark Side. Why?"
Grissk knew that to declare his allegiance to Pana would betray his oath to Ryn'Talos, but declaring that he still served with the Dark Side would end his life and put him on the level that common thugs were reduced to. That he couldn't let happen.
"I said I was a part of the New Sith Order, Karcot. The Old Sith were our downfall. This is simply a rekindling of the same fires using a different wood. The freedom the Jedi offer is nothing but their code forced upon the galaxy, while your precious Thrawn simply sits safe in his armada, never venturing out but to see the devastation his vanguard has caused. I say it again, we are the only hope this galaxy has of true peace. Don't you ever wonder why he sent you, a simple Commodore in a fleet barely equipped to fight the Republic ships, much less our own fleet? You both knew that the chances of us coming here were high.
"Yet he gives a Commodore, someone with little experience, an entire Battlegroup? Do you not even question his motives? Are you that blind? Or have you accepted all that he has told you at face value?"
"I suppose it is best to tell you now, seeing as that detonator is at your feet. You cannot go back to the Empire now. Chances are you will be shot on sight as a traitor. Your bomb worked, very well in fact. Your flagship is gone now, along with her crew. What they will discover when they investigate is that an Imperial ship-bomb went off, from the signatures your weapons leave. A clone in Imperial armor flew one of your Interceptors into the hangar and awaited your thumb to activate the bomb. You killed hundreds, thousands, of Thrawn's men today Karcot. You will not be accepted back into their pitiful flock now. You no longer have the option to return.What awaits you now is what Pana has already offered you."
The Dun Moch is indeed a powerful weapon, but the reaction differs from opponent to opponent, and Jedi trained are normally resistant to it's effects, but the rage he may act on will again wear away at his psyche. How long can he resist the temptations of allowing his emotions to run free, as they should?
Xyras woke with a start as he heard Hann run out the nearby door.
He trusted his apprentice new what he was doing, but something didn't feel right. He put on his cloak, put the hood up, and exited the room quietly, hoping that, if there was something to confront, he could take it by surprise.
He could hear a speeder in the distance, and as the noise drew closer, so did the feeling of a Dark presence he recognized. His hand held his lightsaber, ready for a fight.
Del turned from the two Sith and back to the railing. He gripped it and bowed his head, letting Grissk's words sink in. Surly he was lying. Del reached out with the Force to sense the Avenger. The ship was still intact, but the damage was significant. Del could sense the loss of life. The loss of life that he had caused. Hundreds of the Empires men, his men, where dead by his own hands. The shock was almost to much to be bear.
No. Del thought. Grissk made me do it. He killed those men. With this thought, Del's anger grew. He could feel the power of the Dark Side at his finger tips, power that he only ever used during combat. He could feel it's influence telling him to kill Grissk. Rapidly turning back to the pair, Del grabbed Grissk with the Force and lifted him into the air. "YOU BASTARD!" he shouted. "YOU MADE ME KILL THEM!"
Grissk deactivated his lightsaber and used the Force to put it back in it's place behind his back before pushing Del Karcot back, breaking his concentration. Grissk landed on the floor of the bridge and took the saberstaff out from behind his back again, but not activating it.
"Yyyyyyyyyyyyessssssssss, feel that? That is the power that comes with the use of the Dark Side. You killed your own men, Commodore, not I. All we did was simply displace the bomb that would have killed our own men. Do not test us, Karcot, we do not want a repeat of what happened planetside, do we? You have a chance of surviving on Hoth, and if you do, you will have shown that you are worthy of continuing to live to Scorekeeper. You are worth many points to her."
Yes, he's succumbing much quicker than I expected, the cracks are there for all to see. How long can he keep it up, I wonder?
Xyras woke with a start as he heard Hann run out the nearby door.
He trusted his apprentice new what he was doing, but something didn't feel right. He put on his cloak, put the hood up, and exited the room quietly, hoping that, if there was something to confront, he could take it by surprise.
He could hear a speeder in the distance, and as the noise drew closer, so did the feeling of a Dark presence he recognized. His hand held his lightsaber, ready for a fight.
As Drokath drew nearer to the city, he could feel the Jedi moving towards the gates. Hann at the front and Xyras at the rear. He brought the speeder to a halt. If he stayed out too long it would only mean dying of hypothermia and the empire callers were nowhere to be seen. In desperation he began thinking of alternate gates in but all of them the Jedi would reach before him. It began to drive him insane but then, he heard additional speeders. Grubo's men, it had to be, they are looking for revenge. Maybe these two parties can collide to my advantage. He hopped off his speeder and jammed the acceleration. He was only a 10 minute walk from the gates if he ran and if he was lucky the guards would buy it. Unfortunately they caught up. Mostly gamorians with a few various races taking up the front.
"I think we got our man boys, trying to hide behind a ditched speeder was clever but you should have hidden a bit better." The Twi-lek at the front said.
Drokath smiled, this would work too. "I am not the one you are looking for, there are two Jedi who burned down the palace at the front. A good two minute drive on your speeders. Kill them and avenge Grubo."
The whole party had been manipulated and began drifting away on their speeders.
Del landed in a sideways crouch and drew his lightsaber. A shower of sparks erupted from behind him as the blade materialized and tapped the floor of the bridge. As Del stood back up and brought the weapon into a fighting guard, he rained in his emotions. His rage could be a powerful weapon, but only if Del could control it instead of the other way around. "I am not unfamiliar with the Dark Side, Grissk." he said. "Why do you think I left the Order in the first place? It's a powerful tool, in moderation. That's the difference between you and me: I control the Force, and the Force controls you."
Grissk was slightly surprised by this turn of events, but only because he couldn't understand what had forced Karcot to be blind to himself.
"You must stop thinking of it as a tool,you fool, it is so much more. It is what drives many, it is a way of life, it is not something you take out of a box and put it back in when you are done with it. Doing that only hurts yourself, and holds back what you can become. You do not know yourself Karcot, that is why you failed to kill me on the surface. I embrace who and what I am, while you hide in the shadows and convince yourself you are better than everyone else. I am what Scorekeeper wished me to be and I am happy with what I am."
He took a few steps back, and stood beside Pana, lightsaber still in hand, but still off.
"You may not be unfamiliar with it, Karcot, but you have not harnessed the power it can give you, you are still Jedi, whether you like it or not. There is very little middle ground between the Light and Dark sides of the Force, and as much as you say that your emotions do not control you, continuing to refuse it will only keep you from your true potential.And these outbursts will only get you killed faster. You cannot beat me in sabre combat, and together we have little chance against Pana in our battle of the Force. She has reached that middle ground you so wish to grasp."
Grissk awaited Pana's response, ready to defend himself should the Imperial attack, but still awaiting the Queen's orders.
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